Just wondering what people think. If you are watching the games, you must have some feelings about this...
Who should be our go-to lineup?
- Thread starter PurpleWhiteBoy
- Start date
Oh you know I couldn't go there.
I mean sure, Nicholson, Nance, Buie, Roper and "anybody" is probably our best shot, but some people don't see it that way.
I would have put that one in there, but they capped me at 10 choices...
Why such a negative tone? This is a way for people to express themselves!
The only off-the-wall choice is "Nance should not Start."
I'll complete that sentence for you...
Although I consider Nance our best player, our best win of the season...
a) was the only Big Ten game in which Nicholson played more than 5 minutes.
b) was the only Big Ten game in which Pete Nance played less than 20 minutes.
c) was our best rebounding performance by far.
d) was our 2nd worst shooting game of the conference season.
e) was the game in which Ryan Young played his season high in minutes.
f) all of the above
Greer, Berry, Roper, Young and Barnhizer. Nicholson first off the bench.
The rest have had plenty of opportunity and can’t get it done.
#thefuture
The rest have had plenty of opportunity and can’t get it done.
#thefuture
Gee guess they should play Nicholson at least 20+ minutes and Nance well under 20 minutes
well then guess they should play Nicholson 20+ minutes, play Nance way less then 20 minutes and Use Young until he can't walk. That should definitely set up for NU to win at least 3 or 4 conference games.
I stated a bunch of facts about the Michigan State game.
You used that info to draw some weird conclusions.
General ineffectiveness to this point, and he’s fallen out of the rotation. He’s firmly behind Roper (and remains behind Berry), which wasn’t the case until probably the MSU win.
Simmons has a lot of upside, but he's too green and weak vs. the B1G competition. He should be great as a junior tho, imho.
Simmons needs a year to develop a B1G body. It's possible he will shock us next year, but I expect it will take two for him to really get going.
I assume he will be playing for NU for his college career because there doesn't seem to be a point in speculating about what might happen. With the new portal protocols, who knows who will be playing where "next year" in any given year?
I voted Nance, Young, Audige, Buie, Greer, but only because Nance, Young, Audige, Berry, Buie was not an option.
Nance, Young, Audige, and Buie are the clear 4 for me. Whether Roper, Berry, or Greer make the most sense as the 5th player is less clear for me - I think there are arguments for each of those three. Earlier in the season, Berry was clearly playing better than Roper, but then had a shooting slump, so Roper seemed better recently. But I love what I see from Greer's game this year and wonder what he would do with more talent around him - as has been pointed out, he tends to be in the game with the "second shift". However, Greer's talent has a lower ceiling than Berry and Roper - I don't think anyone would argue that they are more athletic.
As long as Audige focuses on his biggest strength - shutting down the top opposing backcourt player - and Buie focuses on getting the ball either into Young or pick and roll with Nance to start the halfcourt set, I like our chances with those 4. Either Berry or Greer would work well with that group as the spot up sniper when the defense collapses on Young inside, or focuses on Audige, Buie, or Nance driving into the paint.
Nance, Young, Audige, and Buie are the clear 4 for me. Whether Roper, Berry, or Greer make the most sense as the 5th player is less clear for me - I think there are arguments for each of those three. Earlier in the season, Berry was clearly playing better than Roper, but then had a shooting slump, so Roper seemed better recently. But I love what I see from Greer's game this year and wonder what he would do with more talent around him - as has been pointed out, he tends to be in the game with the "second shift". However, Greer's talent has a lower ceiling than Berry and Roper - I don't think anyone would argue that they are more athletic.
As long as Audige focuses on his biggest strength - shutting down the top opposing backcourt player - and Buie focuses on getting the ball either into Young or pick and roll with Nance to start the halfcourt set, I like our chances with those 4. Either Berry or Greer would work well with that group as the spot up sniper when the defense collapses on Young inside, or focuses on Audige, Buie, or Nance driving into the paint.
Well you got 3 that graduate, so you aren’t going out on a limb here. A bunch of people are all puffy chested about the NU parchment so why not go a team where you can be a bigger part of the action?
I think we have only one that runs out of eligibility. Who knows how many graduate early or on time. I think the school offers some quality post grad education though.
Apart from losing Williams, the team appears to have Nance, Young, Audige, and Greer with decisions to make about next year as graduates. That's a pretty large amount of production, so there are some big decisions that significantly impact what NU basketball looks like in 22-23. And that's outside of the usual portal craziness.
Then we agree, they will lose multiple players. You will see a couple transfers coming in as well.
Let me rephrase. I think at least four of our guys will play college ball elsewhere
That would be pretty shocking given how small this year's recruiting class is. I'm skeptical, but it is a new era.
Thanks to everyone who voted or responded.
It looks like 32 of the 44 votes want some lineup that starts with Nance & Young.
9 votes for Beran to stay in the starting lineup instead of Young, with 8 of those saying "leave it how it is" with Nance, Beran, Audige, Buie and Roper.
I am surprised there is so much support for Nance, Young & Beran at the same time. 8 votes! Collins tried them together for less than a minute in one of the games. Maybe he will go that way again. I hope so!
It looks like 32 of the 44 votes want some lineup that starts with Nance & Young.
9 votes for Beran to stay in the starting lineup instead of Young, with 8 of those saying "leave it how it is" with Nance, Beran, Audige, Buie and Roper.
I am surprised there is so much support for Nance, Young & Beran at the same time. 8 votes! Collins tried them together for less than a minute in one of the games. Maybe he will go that way again. I hope so!
Just to update this, here are the usage and performance numbers for the various lineup choices so far this season.
Since they all contain Nance and Buie, I'll just list the three other potential starters.
So our preferred starting lineup has played together 11 minutes this season, with a great result.
Our T-2nd choice, Nance, Young, Beran, Audige, Buie has not played at all.
The other T-2nd lineup, the current starters (Nance, Beran, Audige, Roper, Buie) have played "okay" in 38 minutes.
We have played about 580 minutes against Power 5 teams (prior to the Nebraska game)
Obviously there are huge minutes being given to lineups nobody here really wants.
Since they all contain Nance and Buie, I'll just list the three other potential starters.
| Players | Minutes | NU | Opp | NU pace | Opp pace |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beran Audige Roper | 38 | 63 | 66 | 66.5 | 69.7 |
| Young Audige Roper | 11 | 20 | 11 | 74.1 | 40.7 |
| Young Beran Audige | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a |
| Beran Audige Greer | 19 | 32 | 42 | 66.5 | 87.3 |
| Beran Audige Berry | 70 | 125 | 127 | 71.3 | 72.4 |
| Young Audige Greer | 6 | 15 | 18 | 107.5 | 129.0 |
| Beran Greer Roper | 28 | 67 | 48 | 95.4 | 68.4 |
| Young Greer Roper | 7 | 18 | 15 | 101.4 | 84.5 |
| Williams Audige Roper | 3 | 4 | 9 | 53.6 | 120.7 |
So our preferred starting lineup has played together 11 minutes this season, with a great result.
Our T-2nd choice, Nance, Young, Beran, Audige, Buie has not played at all.
The other T-2nd lineup, the current starters (Nance, Beran, Audige, Roper, Buie) have played "okay" in 38 minutes.
We have played about 580 minutes against Power 5 teams (prior to the Nebraska game)
Obviously there are huge minutes being given to lineups nobody here really wants.
How are we supposed to make sense of all that? Small sample sizes aside, I see Beran is great with Greer and Roper, but bad with Greer and Audige. It makes my pants all scratchy.
The sample sizes are almost ALL too small to draw reasonable conclusions.
That strikes me as really odd - so little playing time for lineups that people could see as our "best" lineup.
But, as you point out, that Nance/Beran/Roper/Buie/Greer lineup has played well, significantly better than any of the lineups that include Nance, Beran, Buie and Audige.